Bible Strands
Nehemiah 1:2
Hanani, one of my brothers, arrived with men from Judah. So I questioned them about the remnant of the Jews who had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Nehemiah son of Hacaliah speaks from the citadel of citadel of Susa in the twentieth year during Chislev. He addresses Hanani and a group of men who have arrived from Judah.
The words — מִֽ/יהוּדָ֑ה (mi./hu.Dah) literally means “from Judah,” identifying the geographic origin of the report. וָ/אֶשְׁאָלֵ֞/ם (va./'esh.'a.Le/m) literally means “and I asked them,” recording Nehemiah’s direct inquiry about the exiles and the city.
The thread — The concept of a preserved remnant runs through Ezra 9:8 and Ezekiel 6:9, where survivors are maintained or called to remember God. Nehemiah later places Hanani in charge of Jerusalem in Nehemiah 7:2, connecting this initial report to future administrative responsibility.
Why it lands — The text demands a factual assessment of the exiled community’s condition before any response. It establishes inquiry as the required first step for leadership acting on behalf of a displaced people.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
Cross-references
- Nehemiah 7:2 Then I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem, along with Hananiah the commander of the fortress, because he was a faithful man who feared God more than most.
- Ezekiel 6:9 Then in the nations to which they have been carried captive, your survivors will remember Me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts that turned away from Me, and by their eyes that lusted after idols. So they will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their abominations.
- Ezra 9:8 But now, for a brief moment, grace has come from the LORD our God to preserve for us a remnant and to give us a stake in His holy place. Even in our bondage, our God has given us new life and light to our eyes.
- Ezra 9:14 shall we again break Your commandments and intermarry with the peoples who commit these abominations? Would You not become so angry with us as to wipe us out, leaving no remnant or survivor?
- Psalms 122:6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you prosper.
- Psalms 137:5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand cease to function.
- Jeremiah 44:14 so that none of the remnant of Judah who have gone to reside in Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah, where they long to return and live; for none will return except a few fugitives.”
- Ezekiel 7:16 The survivors will escape and live in the mountains, moaning like doves of the valley, each for his own iniquity.
- Ezekiel 24:26 on that day a fugitive will come and tell you the news.